On this day, 2 May 1933, the German Nazi government abolished all labour unions: police units occupied all trade union offices, union officials and leaders were arrested and union funds seized. Strikes were then banned, and German workers saw their pay tumble over the next few years while the cost of living rose rapidly. The government also massaged unemployment figures, removing women from them, and conscripting unemployed people to the military.
Pictured: Nazis reading a union office on the day.
Our latest podcast episodes are about resistance to Nazism within Germany itself, and in particular the role of Mildred Fish-Harnack, who lived in Berlin but was born in Wisconsin. You can listen and subscribe on Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts: https://open.spotify.com/show/3dqQUrBAmXgoU1Q6hcUnBX https://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/1977318579119949/?type=3
